Crawling out of the end of the rave scene, the Prodigy's second album went straight in at number one in the charts. All the tracks have the unique stamp of Liam Howlett and the boys, from the hypnotic atmosphere of aggression and attitude on "Poison" and "Voodoo People" to the guitar-driven "Their Law" (featuring the now defunct Pop Will Eat Itself) and the breakbeat tech-house of "No Good (Start the Dance)". One of the few dance acts to retain underground credibility and huge mainstream popularity, Music For The Jilted Generation shows The Prodigy at their best. Any modern music collection seems barren without its presence. -Ed Potton.

Music For The Jilted Generation, despite commercial success, was a harsh underground rave statement proving that Essex rave auteur Liam Howlett could transcend the novelty acid house of many of his peers. Fat Of The Land, however, showed a very different side to The Prodigy; the exaggerated punk pastiche of "Firestarter" and "Breathe", with vocals provided by the band's cartoon Johnny Rotten, Keith Flint, proved that The Prodigy were, at heart, showmen. Fat was as influenced by American punk as it was by any form of dance music-demonstrated with a furious cover of L7's "Fuel My Fire"-and such a destructive, passionate fusion saw The Prodigy topping festival bills all over the world. Elsewhere, "Mindfields" and the irrepressibly controversial "Smack My Bitch Up" were brutal techno assaults, but driven by a defiantly heavy metal sensibility. Fat may have alienated the raving "old-skool", but it deservedly elevated The Prodigy to national public enemies. -Louis Pattison.

Ever since they were credited with inventing progressive house with their first single "Not Forgotten" in 1991, Leftfield have been earmarked as pioneers. Their debut album was a glorious fruition of their talents, delivering on all fronts and sealing their place in dance music history. Effortlessly weaving intoxicating rhythms and sublime melodies around the diverse vocals of former Sex Pistol John Lydon, reggae toaster Earl Sixteen and indie ice maiden Toni Halliday, Leftism is a scintillating journey through all the planes of club culture. From the interstellar dancehall vibes of "Release The Pressure" to the languid splendour of "Melt" and the peerless dancefloor dynamics of "Song Of Life", Paul Daley and Neil Barnes prove themselves jacks of all trades and masters of them all. "Make room for me," screamed Lydon on "Open Up"; the rest of the dance music world duly stepped aside to let the Leftfield juggernaut through. -Ed Potton.

The Best of Groove Armada charts the success of one of the UK's most popular dance acts. Featuring the biggest hits from their last three albums, this anthology of their time on the Jive label is packed with downbeat and upbeat anthems, and an array of music as heard in film, television and radio. The subdued intro and trombone melody of "Superstylin" opens the collection softly with the now legendary bassline kicking in for a perfect euphoric moment. Other upbeat anthems include the piano house of "If Everybody Looked the Same", the Fatboy Slim mix of Gramma Funk's "I See You Baby" (both of which have been used to sell cars) and the more recent disco hit, "Easy". However, although Tom Findlay and Andy Kato pack dance floors every weekend, it's their downbeat soul that receives most attention, partly due to the "chillout" explosion of 2000 that made "At the River" a classic of the genre. With their last album Lovebox, GA showed a more versatile, band-influenced side with songs like the Status Quo sampling "Purple Haze", the rocky "Madder" and fun-loving ska of "But I feel Good". The Best of Groove Armada is a great selection of songs showing the diversity and musical progression of the band, a perfect introduction for the un-initiated and a good collection for those already converted. -Georgina Collins.

While Attack Decay Sustain Release is the debut album by Simian Mobile Disco, James Ford and James Shaw have been here before - before SMD, they were one half of shambling, psychedelic indie outfit Simian. On that band's demise, Ford and Shaw fostered something as a reputation as remixers and producers, tweaking knobs for The Klaxons and Arctic Monkeys. Here, though, they return to the artist's chair in their own right - and if you were one of those people complaining they couldn't hear the 'rave' in new rave, Attack Decay Sustain Release should make you very happy. Tracks like "Hustler" and "Tits & Acid" are unmistakably pitched for the dancefloor, layered constructions of wobbly bass, ecstatic analogue synthesiser washes, and rave blips, presented with a muscle reminiscent of their Parisian rave compatriots Justice. "It's The Beat", featuring Ninja from The Go Team, takes a 'keep it simple, stupid' approach to lyrical ingenuity: "You know it's the one for the treble/Two for the bass/It's the beat". And while in general, there's few signs of any remaining indie sensibilities, "Love" - featuring guest vocals from Barry Dobbin of Clor - features the sort of choppy punk-funk bass that should keep the Rapture fans happy. An impressive reinvention. -Louis Pattison.

Zero 7's ability to conjure beautiful lullabies with all the romance of 1960s French pop, as found on their debut long-player Simple Things, would have made them the toast of soundtrack composers and chillout connoisseurs the world over. Unfortunately, two French men beat Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker to the title of Masters Of Comedown Cool, leaving the London duo to a life time of being termed the British Air. And justifiably so to some degree; the similarities between Zero 7's lush cinematic soundscapes and those of Air's Moon Safari and The Virgin Suicides Soundtrack are so strong as to sound almost intentional. Nonetheless, their debut is a truly gorgeous album. All the tried and tested atmospheric tricks are in play-bleeps and whooshes layered over plodding Fender Rhodes chords, swathes of strings and tender trumpet parps-but it's Binns & Hardaker's languid grooves and the soft melancholy of their melodies that make dream-state instrumentals "Give It Away" and "Polaris" utterly enchanting. The real power of Simple Things, however, is in its songs. As beautiful as their ambient strains are, it's when laid beneath the seductive vocals of Australian diva Sia on the ethereal "Destiny" or the heart breaking "Distractions" that their potency becomes apparent. With such moving tracks as these, Zero 7 dispel the notion that Simple Things is just another collection of nice background music and that they're just riding on Air's coattails. -Dan Gennoe.